We start charging more and more for checked bags, lose them, and take forever to get them to you, so you start doing carry on. Now we have to charge for carry on, so no free bags for anyone!
CEO of airline gets 20 million bonus for slashing free carry on and raising revenue.
Don't forget that first checked bag used to be free, too.
The first two checked bags used to be free.
I don’t get it — the planes haven’t changed size and the regulations for what you can carry on haven’t changed. So how come we’re seeing an increase in carry on baggage? Are they trying to squeeze more people on the planes than they were designed for?
Blame FedEx, and Amazon.
So ... Once upon a time, you'd get to bring one or two checked bags for free. Then FedEx came along and you could ship documents overnight (except it was really expensive). But they started to bring costs down and it became more reasonable to ship stuff that way, at which point the USPS, UPS and other carriers had to start offering similar options or risk becoming the second or third choice carrier. But they needed a way to quickly move letters and packages around the country without having to buy an entire fleet of airplanes.
And then a bright person said, "Hey, why do they have to be our airplanes?" And they went to United and American and all the other carriers and said, "Hey, we want to buy space in your baggage holds, and we're willing to pay!" And suddenly the space under the plane where they tossed people's bags stopped being a way to lose money (did to the extra fuel needed for the extra weight), it became a revenue stream, it was profitable, and the airlines rejoiced.
But now every suitcase a passenger brought up meant less space for those lovely, lovely packages. So the airlines started restricting suitcases - number, size, weight, whatever they could do to create more room for packages - and the start of Amazon only meant even more packages that wanted space. And other companies wanted to compete with Amazon, and packages increasingly needed timely delivery to ever more remote parts of the country.
Anyway, the upshot is that - in addition to squeezing in ever more passengers - nowadays, when you pay to bring along an extra suitcase or oversized/ heavy item, the airlines are actually charging you some of the revenue that they're losing because that space is no longer available to carry lovely, lovely packages.
It wasn't that the airlines were losing money on baggage, it was included in the ticket. It was that they wanted to double dip by charging for the baggage because they could also sell the space to the shipping companies.
It was included in the ticket because if you didn't check a bag the belly would be empty. Now if you don't check a bag they get to fill the belly with air freight, so they want you to try to jam your life into the overhead compartment so they can resell the belly to cargo customers.
Check-in baggage getting more and more restrictive or expensive on weight/size, maybe?
This is exactly what it is.
Airlines used to include at least one checked bag as standard. Then they decided this was something they could upcharge for. At the same time, they were getting worse and worse at actually delivering checked baggage to the right place, so you were basically paying for the privelige of having your luggage lost.
Passengers responded in the only logical way; bring all your luggage into the cabin.
Cue surprised Pikachu face from all the airlines as the incentives they created produce an obvious and predictable outcome.
There's nothing more frustrating than paying to check a bag, then your flight gets changed at the last minute and your luggage goes on the original plane ride.
Also don't forget this decade's follow on:
People started putting Airtags in their suitcases because they wanted to know where their luggage was and call the airlines on their BS, so they banned those in checked bags too.
Zero attempt to remedy the root cause, but damned if they aren't going to stop people trying to cure the symptoms.
Going to need a source on the AirTag ban... I used them six times in the last 18 months, no problems, and I had the peace-of-mind that my bag had made it onto the plane.
Happend to me while in Europe. Not sure about other parts of the world. Was not for long though.
https://www.macworld.com/article/1347964/lufthansa-airtags-ban-luggage-flights.html
I flew last year. Each checked-in bag was $50 before tax and it took over an hour before the baggage carousel even started to spin. Everyone who had carry-on bags were $50 richer and could leave the airport immediately.
That's why. The checked-in baggage process is expensive, miserable, and frustrating. Even worse if they lose your bag which is becoming increasingly common.
Last time they lost my bag it showed up the next day at my door, which was pretty nice.
People stopped checking their bags because they kept getting lost in 2022.
Every flight I've taken since then is pure fucking chaos as people go up and down the aisle looking for space and the staff keep asking if anyone wants to check their bags for free (but nobody takes them up on it). One person actually tried taking my wife's bag out of the luggage compartment to put theirs in her spot.
I don't know if the rates of lost luggage have changed, but every time I fly everyone makes a point to tell me not to check my bag out it will definitely get lost, which never happened to me until this year. The $50 extra they charge is just another incentive not to.
Last time they lost my bag it showed up the next day at my door, which was pretty nice.
Our nationally-named airline used to do the same: they'd lose a bag like 1% of the time, but it'd be at your door after the next flight. The bag was super-priority, and my buddy was one of the bag-bashers whose job was #1 delivery of lost bags and #2 regular baggage stuff.
Then the 90s happened and it started going to owl shit.
They changed the number of seats on a plane (added more in 2012 I think) but didn't change the overhead storage.
It's down to the last big update to FAA regulations. They maximized the number of seats and used a comped check-on system to accommodate the FAA carry-on requirements.
This is for Canada so I assume this is just airlines really screwing over a country that hasn't put in a similar safeguard. UK seems to have the same issues.
If the checked in baggage experience wasn't absolutely shit, this wouldn't be such an issue.
I don't think I've ever gotten my checked in shit in less than an hour.
Everyone's carry-ons are often oversized as shit these days though.
Everyone's carry-ons are often oversized as shit these days though.
No its that they keep purposefully shrinking the size, making everything oversized.
He's comparing it to back when folks would regularly check bags and not pack clothes in a carry on.
People started packing clothes in their carry-on because their checked luggage would be lost by the airline.
Sure, but there's just not enough cabin space for what folks are trying to do now. Doesn't help they redesigned the cabins to fit more seats.
They had the clothes for the next day,the rest was checked. While baggage was lost somewhat often, you normally got it the next day
Yea, you got it.
This problem is mostly a downward spiral.
Checked baggage sucks in general, even though it's where the airlines charge today's premium, the service is absolute shit. It's either late, super late, damaged or lost. You can't really win here.
There was never enough room for everyone's max-sized carry-on to begin with.
People started to bring bigger carry-ons because checked baggage sucks and airlines crammed more seats in the same airframes, making carry-on space even worse.
Most people wouldn't mind forgoing the carry-on, or bringing a smaller carry-on, if they could reliably get their undamaged checked luggage on time at their destination.
Layovers where you have to grab your checked baggage inbetween flights is just annoying.
Me? I've always preferred traveling light, not just for the flight, but I generally don't wanna carry half the shit the average traveller brings with them.
Now, the airlines could mostly fix this by making the checked baggage experience less shit.
We all know that's unlikely though.
They'll just charge you premiums for the carry-on and change nothing else.
Next logical step is checked-in travelers, where they put you in a box in the cargo area.
It was mentioned in the article that some airlines have invested in baggage tracking as well. I know I would be a lot more comfortable checking a bag if I weren't risking not having my bag at the destination.
Airtags are honestly the best invention for this.
They're a bit wonky/laggy during your trip, but when your luggage is lost it's nice to be able to tell baggage claim "the bag looks like X, and it's in terminal 3 of Pearson right now"
Better than that, once you get to your destination, you can find it when you get within 30m... I found out that our bags were sent to a different carousel, and then taken off the belt and into the area behind us on one trip this spring.
Airlines can't be trusted to get their shit together, and having an AirTag / Tile is even better...
I don't need an airtag to tell them what my bag looks like, and that it's at terminal 3 of Pearson. Where else would it be when I flew direct Montréal to Halifax?
When you're flying from LAX to Pearson, Pearson to Montreal, and then before you board your flight at Pearson your gate gets changed, your bag could be anywhere.
Your bag is in Pearson. If your flight goes over Canadian airspace, your bag goes to Pearson.
Vancouver to Mumbai? Pearson.
New York to Seoul? Pearson.
Moscow to Cuba? Pearson.
Helicopter skiing out of Whistler? Pearson.
Driving Québéc City to Charlottetown, but you hit a hill in New Brunswick too fast and catch some air? Pearson.
Greyhound bus from Calgary to Edmonton hits a pothole? Pearson.
The only convincing argument I've ever heard for Toronto being the center of the universe, is the supermassive luggage hole that is Pearson airport.
As for a non-hyperbolic example, I went Atlanta-Montreal-Ottawa a few years. At the customs in Montreal, it was a disaster zone; bags piled in random corridors; and it was abundantly clear there was no chance my bag would make it. What wasn't clear is how my bag ended up in Pearson, then on to Ottawa, then back in Pearson again, then finally in Ottawa.
If I could track my bag from check in to pick up through the airlines own app, they would have my business. Also if I didn't have to wait up to an hour to get it.
For now I'll stick to travelling light with carry on.
That's great and all until you track your luggage heading to Seattle while you've just arrived in Portland. Ask me how I know that one.
Pay for carry on, make check-in free. Problem solved.
That would help but a lot of folks check bags so they don’t have to wait and the carousel and because airlines lose bags all the time.
That last one in particular. I don't mind waiting at the carousel, as long as I know for sure my bag isn't heading to a completely different airport.
If it's a direct flight you're mostly fine, but transfers are definitely riskier.
It feels crazy to me. ALL the bags have barcodes. The barcodes tell them where to go. How in the entirety of hell do you scan a bag for Chicago and put it on a flight for Philly?!
Right, but the point is to move the needle on the margin. There are a lot of people who always do carry on only just to avoid the fees. If, say, 20% of people are just avoiding fees, then that would likely solve the problem. It's not like there are dozens of bags unable to be housed in overhead bins. On most flights, it's none or just a few.
The point is also that there needs to be some excess unused capacity for efficiency to make it faster to embark and disembark. If people need to take a minute to hunt for a bin, it can hold up the entire process.
If they don't want to offer checked bags for free they should at least offer some kind of group deal for checking bags. Like each traveller gets a coupon for 33% off on a checked bag on the same flight, and those stack so any group of 3 or more is checking a single suitcase for free. When flying with family it often makes sense for us to just use knapsacks and one big suitcase.
At this stage, I say Fck the Airlines
This is the best summary I could come up with:
She and her colleagues spent at least 10 minutes moving people and their carry-on baggage around the plane so that they could make room for the cake box on the floor of a window seat where it wouldn't block anyone's exit in the event of an emergency, Jones told Cost of Living.
That's prompting calls for changes to how airplanes charge for baggage, with some discount airlines like Sunwing and Spirit already beginning to flip the fee structure so passengers pay for the privilege of keeping their bags on board.
Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Atmosphere Research Group in San Francisco, says this change needs to happen, and that passengers should be allowed to check a bag for free.
Tardy takeoffs increase costs across the board, said Caroline Marete, a visiting assistant professor in the school of aviation and transportation technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
While it allows travellers to bring one personal item — such as a purse or laptop bag — into the cabin, it costs $25 to take a small suitcase, duffel or backpack as carry-on.
Fergusson said she applauds the idea of paying for carry-on, and thinks business travellers would opt for the quick airport exit they need while vacationers should cool their jets at the baggage carousel.
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